As someone with a degree in philosophy who has also studied the law in an academic setting, I have had a longstanding interest in the issue of equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians.

I happen to share the views of Dick Cheney, Ken Mehlman (the former Chair of the Republican National Committee), Laura Bush, and the Log Cabin Republicans. In other words I am pro-equality. Why?

Leaving aside the question of “normalcy,” let us instead consider the essential nature of things and how this affects the civil rights of gays and lesbians. Long ago, many ,if not most,people conceived of homosexuality as a conscious choice rather than a stable orientation. Today, thanks to science, and the fact that more and more people are coming out, we understand that homosexuality is an immutable condition.

I use those words specifically, as the Supreme Court has maintained that in order to be covered by the equal protection clause, a class must possess a definite and inevitable characteristic, like race or sex or age. The question now concerns the essential nature of marriage. In today’s Western world, people marry for love. One adult citizen marrying another of the same sex simply does not change or diminish the nature of marriage.

Having considered all this, there will, without a doubt, be objections to same-sex marriage. These objections would no doubt be nonsensical to most of us in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community, but people have the right to entertain nonsense.

What they have no right to do is impose their non-sense and give it the glorified description of “law.” Everyone — everyone has the right to marry. The Supreme Court has long held marriage to be a fundamental right.

Ultimately, this is a most important matter that will not go away until the side that seeks equality gets it! This is a threshold issue. Same-sex unions are recognized in Canada and Mexico.

Significant portions of the U.S. also recognize samesex marriage. The time to act is now! Parents with gay or lesbian children, tell your friends with pride about this news. Children with gay parents, tell your friends that your parents are the best gay parents in the world. Come out of the closet if you have not yet done so. Help us out! Let them know that the only item on our agenda was equality!